Welcome to iDigitalTimes’ newest column, Weekly Freebie, a post that will highlight great free-to-play games every Friday morning. That should give you plenty of time to install the game and spend a couple of days playing before the weekend is over. We won’t be beholden to a specific platform. Some weeks you’ll see a console game recommended here, other weeks it might be a PC or mobile release. The only constant will be the game’s F2P business model. And we’re kicking off our new series with the recently released CCG-tactical RPG fusion, Duelyst.
Duelyst combines the deck building and hand management aspects of a traditional collectible card game with the field management and turn-based combat of a tactical RPG. And boy, is it addictive. Players face off in one-on-one matches using a 40-card deck, built primarily around cards from one of Duelyst’s six factions. Battles unfold on a 45-square grid, broken into five rows, using the creatures and spells drawn each turn. Unlike many traditional card games, the player is vulnerable to damage at all times. In fact, you’re represented on the battlefield by a “general” whose appearance and special ability will vary based on the affiliation of your current deck. The general can move around the battlefield, summon minions, fight enemy units, cast spells and even attack the opposing general head-on.
What’s interesting is the way Duelyst manages to combine the combat mechanics of CCGs and tactical RPGs. While combat is turn-based, giving each player a chance to kill enemy minions, summon help and/or reposition their forces, damage is calculated in the same fashion as your average two-stat card game. Each character in the fight, whether minion or general, will have both a strength and health stat. When combat is initiated, the attacking character will deal its damage its first but unless a special effect prevents the target from defending itself it will have a chance to retaliate before dying (should fatal damage be dealt). The only other exception are those minions capable of dealing ranged damage. If they’re out of melee range, they’ll be able to take potshots without risking their necks.
Like any good card game, Duelyst includes a surprisingly diverse base set, featuring more than 350 units and spells, which can be unlocked just by playing the game. It’ll take you a few rounds to unlock all of the starter decks but you’ll also start earning gold as soon as the tutorial is ever. Gold can be traded for Spirit Orbs at a 100-to-1 ratio and each Orb contains five new cards for your collection. As usual, you’re guaranteed at least one rare card per pack and (in our experience) the Orbs seem to be pretty generous right now. We’ve already had a few multi-rare packs, along with one of the game’s legendary-equivalent, and we’ve opened less than half a dozen Spirit Orbs.
Of course, since it’s a free-to-play game, those who’d rather speed up the collection process can also purchase Spirit Orbs for real-world cash. The drop rates don’t appear to be any different than the Orbs being sold for in-game gold, though. So there’s technically nothing stopping a skilled (and patient) player from racking up the wins necessary to complete their collection without ever spending a dime. It’s just going to take you longer to earn the gold, even if you finish all your daily quests and the dozens of solo challenges included in Duelyst.
Duelyst includes all the usual features you’d expect from a CCG, from a basic deck-building interface to ranked play, along with a few features you might not expect, like detailed tutorials and explanations for how each minion attribute can bail you out of sticky situation. There’s even a spectator mode, that separates viewable matches by ranking groups (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond), making it easy for struggling players to learn from their more experienced peers. And lore junkies can rejoice because Duelyst includes a codex crammed full of information on the world, minions and factions featured in the game.
Best of all, most matches can be completed in less than ten minutes. Developer Counterplay Games lists eight minutes as the average match length on the game’s website. To put that in perspective, you can usually finish two rounds of Duelyst in the time it takes to complete one match in Heroes of the Storm; our previous go-to for short play sessions on PC. So even if it turns out Duelyst isn’t really your thing, it shouldn’t take you long to figure it out.
Duelyst is available for PC and OS X and can be downloaded directly from the game’s website .
